This is the easiest way to get more shares for your content! This free plugin allows you to easily create tweetable snippets for your readers right from WordPress. Whoever clicks on the link will have the message automatically added to their Twitterstatus box. This makes it easy for people to share your content and grow your traffic.

Optimized WordPress is a new hosting platform from HostGator that is specifically built for an optimized WordPress environment. Packages will come pre-loaded with PHP 5.6 by default (the most recent PHP version offered). HostGator will handle all of the core, theme, and plugin updates without the need for any action on your part. In other words, you won’t have to worry about logging into your WP-Admin panel to handle common updates. Additionally, Optimized WordPress does not provide cPanel access, allowing you to install and access your WordPress sites without needing to access or navigate an extra control panel to do the things you want to do.

The Genesis Framework empowers you to quickly and easily build incredible websites with WordPress. It’s well-coded and well-supported. The Genesis framework uses child themes so you can update without losing your customizations. It’s inexpensive with tons of possibilities and dedicated plugins. It comes with built-in features like multiple layouts, custom body post classes for each post, breadcrumbs and numeric navigation. Unlike other theme companies, StudioPress’s Pro-Plus Package is a one-time fee for life-time membership.

I know I’ve mentioned CoSchedule here before, but it is one of my favorites and worth mentioning again. CoSchedule is a drag-and-drop editorial calendar for WordPress. With it, you can schedule blog posts and automatically send messages to your social. You can use this plugin to view the posts you have published for the month, posts that are in the works, and the posts that you have planned. My favorite part is that you view your content and social media schedule all on the same calendar.

Ever wish the visual editor in WordPress offered more options? Well, this plugin is for you! It will let you add, remove and arrange the buttons that are shown on the visual editor toolbar. It includes 15 plugins for TinyMCE that are automatically enabled or disabled depending on what buttons are chosen. I’ve had this one installed for so long I can’t even remember what the original Tiny MCE looks like.

If you’ve been blogging for a while, I bet you have tons of broken links in old posts. Dead hyperlinks are not just annoying to your website visitors – their existence can result in a negative impact on your website’s SEO rankings. This plugin will monitor your site (blog posts, pages, comments, etc.) looking for broken links and let you know if any are found.

Google Analytics Dashboard gives you the ability to view your Google Analytics data right in your WordPress dashboard. Sure, you can open up Google Analytics every time you want to look at your stats, but if you just want a quick glance, this plugin is certainly convenient. You can also allow other users to see the same dashboard information when they are logged in.

I hope these resources enable you to simplify your processes and improve your site! Learn more about HostGator and check out HostGator Optimized WordPress for yourself!

Thank you for supporting this blog by allowing me to post occasional sponsored content. All sponsored posts feature products or services that I truly feel would be of interest to you. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Travel, whether it be to a conference or on a vacation, is crucial to my sanity and for keeping my creative juices flowing. You may be wondering how the heck is all this travel possible for a self-employed graphic designer without tons of money or savings.

I’m spilling the beans… I’m just paying off those trips a year later. But I wasn’t prancing around, being extravagant and getting myself into debt that I wouldn’t be able to pay back, this was an intentional plan. I picked a credit card that was right for my needs and figured out how much I needed to pay each month to have it payed off in one year.

This year’s travel plans couldn’t be more different but one thing that stays the same: I still don’t have ton of money saved up. I’m getting married in October so my bachelorette party is this summer in Miami and then our honeymoon will be in October (we are thinking Tulum, Mexico). My favorite travel locations include boats, beaches or pools (as you can tell by the photos here from past trips). If you have any suggestions for Miami or Tulum I’d love for you to share them in the comments!

When it comes to traveling, I like a credit card that allows me to earn miles and doesn’t have an annual fee. Also, when traveling abroad, a card without foreign transaction fees is key! This is exactly what makes the Discover It Miles credit card such a perfect fit for me. You also don’t have to worry about blackout dates, the miles never expire, and there is $0 fraud liability guarantee where you are never responsible for unauthorized purchases on your card. Also, as an introductory offer, cardmembers will now receive double the amount of miles they’ve earned at the end of their first year – with no spending cap. This is huge! To explore all of the rewards and discover more about the card for yourself, just click here.

Thank you for supporting this blog by allowing me to post occasional sponsored content. All sponsored posts feature products or services that I truly feel would be of interest to you. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

As a designer, I’m a visual thinker, but that doesn’t mean that my clients are. Sometimes they need help actually visualizing the end result. This is where mocking up my work comes in handy. When sending a design to a client, presentation is always crucial. Mockups are also great for showcasing final work in your portfolio like I have done here, here and here. This is great when you can’t get around to photographing your work.

This process doesn’t have to be difficult or too time consuming. You could always build your mockup files from scratch, but there is not always time for that, so I like to use pre made templates. Remember my post Free and Affordable Stock Photo? Well, I have a new favorite resource to add to that list called GraphicStock! To find mockups like these over on GraphicStock search words like tablet, screen, corporate templates and mockup. Once you find a mock you like, just download and paste your own designs in!

Purchasing individual photos and elements can work for the most part, but if you need multiple resources each month, that can really add up. GraphicStock is great since you can get a year of unlimited downloads for one set price! With a library of over 250,000 graphics, icons and vectors, the possibilities for creative output are endless. And the good news, there is a 7-day free trial, where you can have access to the library of images to discover how easy it is to find necessary graphics and designs for your next project.

Features to love:

• Unrestricted usage rights for personal or commercial projects
• Keep what you download and maintain usage rights forever
• Start a 7 day free trial – download up to 140 graphics from the library during your trial

If you find you don’t get any use out of GraphicStock, be sure to cancel your account before the end of your 7-day trial to avoid subscription charges.

Laundry is seriously one of the worst chores. It seems like by the time you’ve gotten all of the dirty clothes washed, dried, folded, and put away, there are five new loads to get started on! It is never-ending. But that’s why it’s important to make laundry an entertaining chore, so that you don’t hate yourself every time you step into your laundry room. If you want to crawl into a hole each time you see an article of dirty clothing, check out these 100% guaranteed-to-work tips for making laundry time easy and fun.

1. Blast music at volume level 57

Although, if you live in an apartment or townhouse like I do, and are in close quarters with your neighbors, I would suggest moving it down to maybe…32 or so. Just loud enough so that anyone who can hear the music, can’t also hear you singing loudly (and if you’re anything like me, very, very badly). Playing music, dancing, and singing can make any chore go by in .2 seconds, so this is a must for laundry time.

2. Color-code your laundry baskets

Sorting your clothes at laundry time is a pain in the butt and makes your laundry room an absolute mess. Save yourself the hassle and keep two separate laundry baskets in your room–one for whites/lights and one for darks/colors. Problem solved! Now, you take one basket at a time to the laundry room, dump it right into the washer, and viola! you’ve just completed the wash step in lit’rally 45 seconds tops. Now you can go sit on your butt for thirty minutes until the next step. Yes, I know, I’m a genius. You can thank me later. (We still have 5 more tips to go!)

3. Set an alarm for laundry time

Better yet, set your ringtone for that alarm to “Happy” by Pharrell, because that song can do no wrong. Schedule out time for laundry each week (for me, Sundays are my laundry days!), set a happy alarm so that you can’t forget about it, and get pumped up to wash some clothes!

4. Try the one-minute rule

What is the one-minute rule, you ask? Well, my friend, prepare to have your mind blown. Whenever you’re getting dressed in the mornings or throwing your clothes around your room as you prepare to hop into the shower, just think about how much time it would actually take you to put those clothes into their designated hampers. I’m guessing it would be about 15 seconds. That’s less than one minute. The one-minute rule states that anything that you can do under one minute, you need to do right then, rather than putting it off. Because if you put off twenty things that you could have done immediately in less than a minute, you’ll end up wasting twenty minutes of your time later when you’re picking up after yourself. Don’t waste twenty minutes of future you’s time. Put your clothes in the hamper right after you take them off, instead of scattered all over your floor.

I am a klutz. I am clumsy and I drop things and I spill things and I break things. No matter how careful I am, these things just happen. If you’re anything like me, I do not recommend trying to carry twelve bags of groceries at once, including a bottle of liquid detergent, because you will drop said detergent and it will explode everywhere. So, if you are anything like me, there are all free clear pods. Small, easy-to-use and impossible-to-spill packages of detergent that you can toss right in with your clothes. Perfection.

6. Wear clothing more than once

Obviously you need to toss your underwear into the laundry after one day. But there are some articles of clothing that can get worn two or three times without needing a wash. Jeans, for example, don’t need to be washed after every wear. (In fact, Levi’s CEO hasn’t washed his jeans in over a year! I don’t recommend going that far, but at least there’s a credible source telling you that you shouldn’t wash jeans after every wear.) And do you remember that shirt that you wore for about two hours at the bar last weekend? There are still several hours left of wear in that shirt before it needs to go into the wash cycle (DISCLAIMER: If you were in a smoky bar for two hours, put that shirt in the wash NOW.)

7. Turn folding clothes into binge-watching hour

Gather all of your newly-cleaned clothes together, sit them in front of the TV with you, and turn folding time into your favorite Netflix show marathon time. If you don’t get much time to watch TV anyways, this will be an especially nice treat, causing you to enjoy laundry time even more! If you do watch Netflix regularly, then you need to reevaluate your life choices. (Kidding! I’m watching Parks & Rec for the second time as I write this.)

Bonus tip!

Having a little puppy around always makes laundry everything more fun! The all free clear line, which also includes laundry detergent, fabric softener and dryer sheets, helps simplify your laundry regimen and take care of any sensitive skin worries so you and your family are free to be! Free from the irritants and allergens that get in the way of living life. Photos by Ciera Holzenthal.

This story on holiday crafting and clean up has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser but all opinions and experiences are mine alone. #EurekaPower #CollectiveBias

Who else seems to have a house covered in glitter, Christmas tree needles, tinsel and confetti after the holidays?? Then throw in some DIY, whew, so pretty, but so messy! We got our tree up last week and finished decorating it yesterday. I decided I wanted to get my craft on and make my own tags from a bunch of craft supplies that have been laying around. I busted out hole punches, glue, string, glitter and all kinds of stuff!

I love DIYs and crafting but then when it comes time to clean that epic mess… womp, wooomp. It’s usually such a pain, but this time it wasn’t bad at all with some help from my new Eureka vacuum! This thing is a vacuuming master. I have a feeling that all of my crafty friends are going to want one of these bad boys! Quick, add it to your Christmas wish list!

Clean up from decorating the tree and wrapping presents was super quick and painless which means more time spent to appreciate our pretty tree!

So this Eureka is known for it’s SuctionSeal (plates that raise and lower against the surface maintaining suction and seal without scattering debris). It also uses Air Speed technology (a wide tube of air with minimal bends and twists that allows air to move freely across a shorter and more direct path). It’s originally priced at $148.88 but is currently on Rollback for $129 at Walmart (where I got mine)! It’s all the way on the right in the photo below! Learn more and check it out in action!

Thank you for supporting this blog by allowing me to post occasional sponsored content. All sponsored posts feature products or services that I truly feel would be of interest to you.

I’m so excited to show y’all this moodboard I designed inspired by Brian Gavin Diamonds’s new Rose Gold Collection. The collection is so romantic and soft I wanted the moodboard to express the same feelings. I am adoring this color combo so much, I feel like I need to throw a party using it! Hmmm, wedding colors?

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Hi Y’all! I’m Ciera…

a graphic designer who loves photography, traveling, festivals, coffee, keyboard shortcuts and helping other small businesses to succeed. The studio is based in New Orleans but accepts clients worldwide! Read More…